Tangled Webs
by irmaida
Summary: "Victoire sighs and stares out the owlery window, wondering what mess she got herself into. It's just one Hogsmeade date, she tells herself. It could be worse." Victoire-centric, Victoire/Dominique sisterhood, Victoire/Teddy/Dominique. For Gia.


_Tangled Webs_

summary: "Victoire sighs and stares out the owlery window, wondering what mess she got herself into. It's just one Hogsmeade date, she tells herself. It could be worse." Victoire-centric, Victoire/Dominique sisterhood, Victoire/Teddy/Dominique.

\

Victoire walks into Hogwarts, ready for her Fifth Year, and immediately looks around for Sarah and Emily, her two best friends. There they are, standing together already. When Emily, always the nicer of the pair, sees her, she waves her over. Victoire turns around for a second for Dominique, but her younger sister already seems to have dispersed among the crowd. She shrugs to herself and makes her way to her two best friends at Hogwarts.

Sarah and Emily are twins, although they are fraternal, not identical. Sometimes Victoire supposes that the two might as well be; they are already so similar. They have the same blonde hair and blue eyes, like her. But Sarah is an inch or two shorter than Emily, who has a smattering of freckles on her nose and arms. And Sarah's eyes are brighter, but a bit smaller, and she has high cheekbones, while Emily's eyes are a darker blue. But personality-wise—

"VICTOIRE!"

"We haven't seen you in _forever_!"

"How was it back home? Did you meet anybody?"

"Oh my gosh you got _prettier_!"

"Girls!" Victoire interrupts. "I missed you too!" They group hug. She can smell Emily's perfume. Or maybe Sarah's wearing it? Possibly both of them, knowing her friends. But since when did they wear perfume?

\

Victoire quickly learns that she has an awful lot to catch up on. Sarah and Emily aren't the most consistent letter writers. She tries to catch up with the pair back in the Gryffindor common room, talking with them every night.

"Wait, so, Sarah, _you _now have a boyfriend?"

"Well," Sarah blushes, "not really a boyfriend. More of just a friend that's a guy. But you know I've been crushing on Seth for ages—"

"Ages?" Victoire interrupts.

"Yeah, since I first saw him across the Great Hall! I can't believe I hardly noticed him last year. He's so cute! And we sit together in History of Magic. He actually makes it mildly interesting!"

"Oh," says Victoire. She tunes out to most of Sarah's squealing and Emily's interjections. Her mind wanders to last year, third year. It hadn't been like this. They had talked about classes, and dresses, and new craft ideas, and the only boys they ever mentioned were celebrities.

"You know, Victoire," she hears Sarah saying, "I always thought _you _would be the first to get a boyfriend." The combination of words brings Victoire back to reality.

"Excuse me?" she says. She's normally more articulate than this, but it's safe to say that she's been struck speechless.

"Yeah!" chimes in Emily. "Since, you know, you're _definitely _the prettiest. There are already loads of boys that would totally want to go out with you!"

"Hey, oh my gosh, I just realized that there's a Hogsmeade trip next weekend!" Sarah squeals. "They're doing it early this year because the teachers want us to see Hogsmeade without all that snow. It's even prettier in autumn, I hear! Anyway, I'm going with Seth, and Emily can't come because she has a club meeting. I was really worried about you feeling like, you know, a third wheel, but there are loads of boys out there for you!"

"You two can like, double date!" Emily almost screams. "It'll be adorable!" By now, a few heads have turned to see all the ruckus. Victoire spots Dominique, her younger sister, in one of the armchairs, glaring at them over the cover of their book.

"I don't really want to date," Victoire mumbles. "And quiet down."

Emily looks around and seems to notice all the attention she has brought to herself and tones down her scream. "What? But you could get practically any boy you wanted. Surely there's _someone _you like? Don't deny it!"

Victoire thinks about it, but the only boy she would be comfortable going to Hogwarts is, well, Teddy. And Teddy is two years older and practically a cousin. No, no, asking Teddy would just be awkward. She's always admired Teddy, and he makes a great friend, but the two of them together? Anyway, Teddy would definitely say no. Surely he has better things to do than to go to Hogsmeade with his fifteen-year-old practically cousin.

"Oh my gosh there is something you're totally blushing!" Sarah exclaims, interrupting Victoire's thoughts. To her horror, Victoire realizes that, yes, unbeknownst to herself, her cheeks had been turning red. Traitorous cheeks!

"No, nobody," Victoire insists. "Nobody at all. Look, I don't feel so well. Can I just go to bed early?"

Sarah and Emily exchange a glance. "Okay," they say with a shrug.

\

"So, going to Hogsmeade or _what_?" Sarah prods. It's been a week, and the pair still hasn't let up. "Please! You know Seth and I aren't really official yet, and he thinks we're going as friends, so it would be way awk if it was just him and me! And then if you just came by yourself, you might feel like a third wheel. But if you came with another guy as your boyfriend, then nothing would be awk with me and Seth and at the same time he might get more comfortable with us together as another couple!"

Victoire sighs. She does rather feel sorry for Sarah, because she seems to genuinely care an awful lot for Seth. Being in love must be the most complicated, stressful thing, Victoire decides.

"Fine," she sighs. "If a guy asks me out, I'll say yes, okay? So long as he's not totally gross or something."

"Thank you so much!" squeals Sarah, giving Victoire a gigantic hug. Victoire sighs. The things she does for her best friend. And yeah, being friends with Emily and Sarah isn't always easy, but the two girls do care for her.

\

Victoire is hoping with all her heart that no one will come and ask her out to the Hogsmeade date, but as her luck goes, she gets asked out the very next day.

It's not the first time some boy has sought her out, but it's the first time she's obligated to say yes.

He's a dark-haired, rather tall boy. She vaguely recognizes him as maybe a Quidditch player. She doesn't really notice Quidditch, though. They meet in the owlery, just as she's mailed off a letter to her parents.

"Hey," says the boy. Just her luck, they're the only two in the owlery. "My name's Eric Blatsky."

"Um, hey, I'm Victoire," she answers.

"I know," says the boy. He looks rather nervous. Then he blurts out, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Her mind whirls, and leaps, and her first instinct is a good, solid, 'No.' But she promised Sarah. And he's not repulsive in any way; he's really rather cute. "Yes," she says.

"Really?" he asks. He looks absolutely delighted. "Thank you!" She can hear him whooping as he goes downstairs.

Victoire sighs and stares out the owlery window, wondering what mess she got herself into. It's just one Hogsmeade date, she tells herself. It could be worse.

She is about to go down when someone else comes up the stairs: her younger sister, with her own letter in her hand, a very slight blush on her cheeks.

"About to mail a letter, Dom?" Victoire asks. "I just mailed mine. I hope Dad and _Maman _don't find it too repetitive to read through two letters in the same day. I mean, we are at the same place. We may have the same stories!"

"I don't think so," says Dominique. "We notice different things. Like you never told me about Hogwarts's Quidditch team, even after four years of being here! Did you know I made the team? As a Chaser! That's really rare for a Second Year girl like me."

Victoire shrugs. "Well, I'm not really interested in that stuff. I guess that's what makes us different, Dom."

"Yeah," says Dominique. "Want to help me mail my letter? You can choose the owl. I usually have Erin choose my owl, but she's not here today."

"Sure," says Victoire. "Who's Erin?"

"Erin Blatsky! She's my new best friend," Dominique declares. "She's wonderful. And she has an older brother who plays Quidditch! He's really, really good. He's Seeker on our team." Very subtly, Victoire notices Dominique redden, but she does not pay much attention to it.

"Does he?" Victoire asks absentmindedly. Quidditch talk bores her. She sends the screech owl with Dominique's letter off.

"I missed talking to you, Victoire," says Dominique, almost shyly.

Victoire thinks and is surprised to say, "Actually, I really missed talking to you too, Dom. Emily and Sarah are my best friends, but they're, you know…"

"Loud?" Dominique suggests.

"Very," Victoire agrees. They laugh.

\

The maybe-double-date-maybe-not, which is the next Saturday, goes off without a hitch. By the end of it, she's sure that Sarah and Seth will be just fine, but it's obvious that she and Eric just have no interest in each other. Victoire, of course, isn't really interested at all in the boy, and while Eric must have found her desirable in some aspects to ask her out, they don't really have too much in common. Quidditch talk really does bore her.

They survive their ordeal and then go their separate ways. Eric doesn't ask her out on a second date, and she's glad.

"I'm sorry things didn't really work out between you and Eric," says Sarah a few days later after Seth has officially agreed to be her boyfriend. Victoire only shrugs.

"Then again," Emily says with a dismissive brush of her hand. "I don't think you really cared for him, and anyway, he was a Fourth Year. A cute one, but still, a Fourth Year. Not really the guy for you, Victoire."

"But, oh my gosh, Seth is so the guy for me. He's so sweet, and kind. We just have to find someone for you, Victoire, maybe someone older, or someone from our grade, but he has to be super cute and nice…"

Victoire tunes out to most of the girls' talk. She's never going to get talked into getting a boyfriend, especially not by Sarah and Emily. They're fifteen, for goodness's sake. Even last year they were able to talk about other topics.

"Could you please tone it down a little bit?"

Sarah and Emily have been in the middle of a squealing spasm when Victoire looks up and sees her younger sister, Dominique, holding a large Hogwarts textbook and looking very annoyed.

"Oops, we're sorry!" says Emily, always the more sensible of the pair, sheepishly.

"We'll go talk somewhere else!" Sarah decides. She begins dragging her sister off to a farther off corner of the Common Room, gesturing for Victoire to follow them, but she tells them that she'll catch up with them later.

"Hey Dom," she says to her sister. "Listen, I'm sorry about my friends. Do you need any help with studying? I'm great with Transfiguration and Arithmancy; I know you're always having trouble with that."

"No," says Dominique, rather bluntly, to Victoire's surprise. Just a few days ago, less than a week ago, even, the two of them had been able to have a fun conversation. Now Dominique is all terse replies and harsh glares. Victoire looks at her younger sister and realizes that the girl looks strained, almost at the verge of tears.

"Hey," says Victoire. "Is everything okay?"

Dominique gives her an even more strained look. "Everything's fine," the girl mumbles. "You should go off with Sarah and Emily. They sort of are waiting for you." Her younger sister shuffles away, staring at the ground and looking dejected.

Victoire is left wondering what in the world she did wrong.

\

A week later, Dominique still isn't talking to her. She seems to be avoiding her. Victoire is tuning out to a conversation between Sarah and Emily on the Halloween party that is coming up and instead is staring at her younger sister across the room, trying to figure out what is wrong.

Dominique stares out into seemingly empty space, looking dejected. She has no book in hand, no friend nearby. Her younger sister is just staring. At what? The gaze seems too intense to just be an absentminded one. Victoire follows her sister's gaze, and it leads her to a group of rather loud group of boys talking about Quidditch. As the center of the group is a boy that looks rather familiar, one who is currently laughing.

Eric Blatsky.

Oh my gosh. The truth hits her in the stomach like a ton of bricks. She remembers: Dominique at the owlery, blushing at his name, and how it was _after _her date that Dominique started to act all awkward... What has she done?

"And, um, Victoire," she hears Sarah blathering in the background. "I know you're kind of uncomfortable with guys, but I heard there's going to be a dance after the party and you are way too pretty to not dance! Seth has a friend, a nice shy one like you, who apparently is really good at dancing too, and so just one dance, please? You guys can just dance as friends, you'd like him, loads of girls do that, and are you okay?"

Suddenly, the room seems a whole lot quieter without her two best friends squealing. Instead, they give her soft, sympathetic glances, awaiting her answer.

"I-I'm okay," she says. "I'm just, you know, tired."

How could she have messed up so badly?

\

For a week after that, Victoire tries to find Dominique alone. But Dominique seems to be avoiding her. And her younger sister isn't exactly the easiest person to find; when she wants to, Dominique is excellent at blending in. That was how Dominique always won at hide-and-seek. Victoire's long, silvery blonde hair is difficult to camouflage, but Dominique has short brown hair and simply blends in with the crowd, especially at a distance.

Finally, Victoire manages to find her younger sister—in the owlery, of all places.

"I was just leaving," mumbles Dominique when Victoire finds her.

"No, stay," says Victoire. "I've missed talking to you, you know."

"Yeah." Dominique won't meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry, you know, about Eric Blatsky—and don't deny it because I know you like him. I'm just, you know, sorry, but it's not my fault!"

"Oh?" Dominique finally looks up. She looks angry. "Explain."

Victoire sighs. "I mean, you wouldn't understand, Dom. You don't have crazy friends. He asked me out, and I couldn't say no because of a favor I owed Sarah. But I didn't want to go with him! It was him that wanted to go with me…" She stops, because she realizes that she really isn't comforting Dominique at all.

Her younger sister says nothing. She appears to be ignoring her. Victoire briefly wonders if Dominique is going to begin crying, but instead her sister looks up into her eyes with even more anger.

"Don't look at me like that," she snaps. "It's not my fault he asked me out. I wish I was like you sometimes. Then I wouldn't get into these problems—"

Finally, Dominique bursts out, "Your problems! Your problems! Oh, your issues seem _so _bad! Boys everywhere dying to date you, even when you don't want them! It must be _so _terrible!"

"They don't even like me! They only like me because of my looks—"

"Yes, how terrible it must be to be pretty—"

"That's not how I meant it!"

"Then how did you mean it, Victoire?" Dominique shoots back. "Oh, it's not my fault that I'm so beautiful!" she mimics in a high falsetto.

And then Victoire is angry—angry, because, "Why are you being so _impossible _about this? I spent a _week _looking for you; do you know how impossible it was to find you? You just blended in with every crowd I looked in. All I wanted to do was apologize so that you would talk to me again! I didn't even do anything wrong! It's not like you had a chance with the guy even if he hadn't liked me—he was a Fourth Year, and no self-respecting Fourth Year would ask out a Second Year; you knew that! He probably didn't even know who you were, so just suck it up. You're way too young to fall in love or whatever that nonsense is anyway."

Victoire lets out her breath and then feels deflated—terribly deflated. Her younger sister is looking up at her with wide eyes. And then Dominique runs away. Victoire is pretty sure that she hears sobs.

\

Needless to say, she and Dominique pretty much stop talking after that.

Even when they go home for Christmas together, they hardly say a word. Luckily, they're smart enough to act normal around their parents, who are generally clueless. In their defense, Victoire supposes that her parents are busy. Christmas dinner is planned to be at the Burrow, but their parents have agreed to bring the turkey. In addition, they are not completely finished with their Christmas shopping yet.

So Christmas break is pretty much an extremely chaotic time. She barely gets to see Dominique's face. Which is fine with her.

At the Christmas party, Victoire stays away from the scene. Usually she's right in the center, telling all her relatives about her year or dancing to old Celestina Warbeck tunes. Luckily, Weasley Christmases are always so chaotic that no one seems to notice.

Except Teddy.

His hair is a faded pale blue as he asks her, "Are you okay, Victoire? You've been quiet. That's unlike you."

She smiles faintly. "Only tired." But she can tell from his eyes that he doesn't believe her—not one bit. "Dom and I had a fight," she blurts out.

"Oh," says Teddy. "About what?"

She looks down. "Girl stuff."

"Ah, girl stuff," Teddy seems rather amused. His hair seems to be a bit less pale now. "Okay, you don't have to tell me. But whose fault was it?"

"I don't know," she mumbles. "Hers? Mine? Both? I just don't feel like talking to her right now. And she doesn't want to talk to me either, so that's that, right?"

"Cheer up, Victoire," says Teddy, taking her hand. The unexpected warmth makes her look up. "I'm sure you'll figure out what to do. You seem to always do. Besides, at least you _have _a younger sister…"

She feels ashamed. How petty sibling spats must seem to Teddy, who doesn't have an actual family. He only continues to smile down at her, his hair restored to its brilliant shade of turquoise. He's still holding her hand. Their eyes meet. Are they getting closer? Her heart is hammering too fast for comfort, her breath too quick.

"_Teddy_…" she says, but something feels wrong. She breaks away from his eyes and looks around. Her eyes fall upon her sister, Dominique. She had been staring at them. With that same intense look she had given Eric Blatsky.

"I have to go," she abruptly tells Teddy, before running off.

\

Back at Hogwarts. She's never felt lonelier in her life.

And unluckily, or perhaps luckily for her, OWLs are coming up. Just another thing to take her mind off her problems. She drowns herself in studying, in a way that she's never done before. One day, she's at the library when she bumps into Teddy.

Even though she and Teddy are in the same House at the same school, it's rare that they see each other, for Teddy is two years ahead of her.

"Hey," says Teddy. He peers at her large stack of books and wordlessly takes a few, lightening her load. "I never took you for the stack-of-books studious type."

Victoire shrugs and can't help but to smile. "I'm studying for OWLs, Teddy. They're very important."

"Do you need help?" he asks.

"Help?" she repeats. "It's okay, I can manage…"

"Are you sure, Victoire? If I hadn't come before, this stack of books may have crushed you. You need someone like me to supervise. Plus Seventh Year is fairly light—all the big tests are really in Sixth Year. I have plenty of time to help you." He smiles widely, and literally all of Victoire's willpower seems to melt.

"Thanks Teddy," she says. They set their books down on the table and sit next to each other. She smiles and doesn't feel quite so lonely.

\

OWLs are finally over. And so is the year. Almost over. She breathes a sigh of relief.

"So, how do you think you did on your last one?" Teddy pulls up a chair and sits next to her. It's just a regular thing now: them meeting up at the library. It turns out that Teddy is an excellent tutor. He makes even the most complicated spells seem easy. That's all it is, strictly educational, she tells herself. But she can't ignore the fact that she always seems to be blushing or smiling around him, her heart beating too hard for comfort.

"I don't know," she says. "I think I did well. You really helped. Still glad it's all over though. And now you don't have to spend time with me anymore."

"I rather like spending time with you," says Teddy a bit shyly. "Look, I was just wondering, Victoire, if maybe one day you would go out with me, to Hogsmeade next week, maybe? Just the two of us."

Victoire blinks and wonders if Teddy is joking. "Pardon?" she asks. Her voice comes out sounding rather strangled. He must be joking. But Teddy's hair is turning maroon. He's serious.

"I mean, yeah. Next week. Saturday. I don't really like Madam Puddifoot's, but we could go there if you wanted to; girls like that stuff, right?"

"No," she finally gets out. Her head is spinning but one priority comes up: _Dominique_. "No. No."

"No?" He looks stunned. His hair appears to be fading. "Victoire, I'm sorry, I mean, but why?"

"No," she repeats. "No!" And then she runs, yet again.

\

By the next day, the news has spread over the school like wildfire. "_Did you hear; Victoire Weasley turned down Teddy Lupin!" "Is she insane?" "No, he's the insane one! Isn't he two years older than her?" "What Fifth Year would turn down a Seventh Year? I would _die_ if Teddy Lupin asked me out."_

Of course, at the forefront of this gossip are Sarah and Emily, "Why didn't you tell us?" complains Sarah. "We had to hear you turned down Teddy Lupin from _Martha_! How she knew I'll never know; you hardly even know Martha!"

Victoire says nothing. "I don't really want to talk about it."

Sarah looks at her with frustration. "I'm sick of you, Victoire!" she declares. "You're no fun anymore. We're supposed to be best friends! I tell you everything about my life! Why won't you tell me? You're just a selfish funsucker and a _terrible _friend!" With that, Sarah storms away. "Come on, Emily." Emily looks from Sarah, to Victoire and looks absolutely torn.

"I'm sorry," squeaks Emily, before trailing after her sister.

\

"I thought I was the only one not going to Hogsmeade." Victoire is sitting in the Gryffindor common room, by herself, when a soft voice makes her look up.

The owner of the voice is a rather small, brown-haired girl. "My name is Erin," she says. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"It's okay," says Victoire. She has been feeling rather lonely lately. The girl pulls up a chair and sits down next to her. "I'm—"

"Victoire Weasley, I know," interrupts the girl. "Um, everyone kind of does."

Victoire is surprised. "And you're still sitting with me?" Girls have been avoiding her ever since the Teddy incident. The fact that Sarah started spreading rumors about her wasn't much of a help either.

"It'll blow off. And there are loads of girls who think you're cool," says Erin.

"Loads?" Victoire asks skeptically. Her reputation is practically ruined. "Yeah right."

"I know one girl who would very much like to talk to you," Erin says with a smile. Victoire raises her eyebrows. "Come follow me. She's in the owlery."

Victoire suspects something is up, but honestly, it can't be that bad. The small girl looks at her with earnest brown eyes that cannot possibly be planning anything _too _awful. She enters the owlery and sees another familiar brown head petting a speckled owl. And everything clicks. Of course! She should have known.

"Dom," she utters.

The girl turns around. It's her younger sister, all right. "Victoire."

They stand awkwardly. Erin's eyes flick from Victoire to Dominique and finally land on Dominique, giving the younger girl an expectant look.

"I'm sorry," they blurt out at the same time. Victoire begins to speak but Dominique interrupts her. "No, really, Victoire, I'm sorry. You were right about everything you said. I was nasty and I ignored you for like no good reason. I was impossible, and you were right about Eric Blatsky, and pathetic—"

Then Victoire interrupts. "But it was my fault too. I shouldn't have said all those things about you. I wasn't thinking; you know I didn't mean them. And I'm so sorry about Eric Blatsky; even if I hadn't know, I shouldn't have said yes to him just because my friends wanted me to. If you still care for him…"

They stand awkwardly for a few more moments. Then in a flurry, she finds that Dominique is hugging her and she is hugging her sister back. Erin stands aside, a smile on her face. "Told you, Dom."

"I'm sorry about Teddy," Dominique says when they break apart. "I know you said 'no' to him because of me, and it's not what you think. I never really liked him—I was just jealous because so many boys liked you and none every liked me. But I don't mind anymore. You can date him." She looks up, eyes shining. When Victoire hesitates, Dominique adds, "Besides, you were right about me being much too young. I've been playing Quidditch much better after I stopped caring about Eric Blatsky."

Victoire laughs. "I think I might have blown my chance with him though. Or at least, I've blown my chance to go to Hogsmeade with him."

"It's not too late," interjects a sudden, out-of-breath Emily from the door. "Teddy's not at Hogsmeade."

"Emily!" exclaims Victoire, terribly surprised. "Where's Sarah?" In all the years she's known Emily, she has never seen Emily without her twin counterpart.

"We kind of had a spat. But I know she'll come around. Besides, Victoire, I feel terrible for the way I've been treating you, and I thought I'd make it up," explains Emily. "Now, follow me; I know where Teddy is."

"How?" Victoire asks, stunned.

"Did you really think Teddy would go to Hogsmeade by himself after being rejected by you?" Emily teases lightly. She smiles wide. "He's in the library. Go off to find him. I'll wait here with your younger sister and her friend."

\

Just a few minutes later, Dominique sees a pair walking off to Hogsmeade from the owlery window. One has a head of brilliant turquoise hair, and the girl next to him has hair of silvery blonde. Who could it be but Teddy and Victoire?

"Are you okay?" Erin asks softly.

Dominique smiles as genuinely as she can. "Yeah. She deserves this." She tears her eyes off the happy couple and looks at Erin with watery eyes. "I'll meet you down at the Quidditch pitch with my broom later, okay?"

Erin leaves. Dominique watches the couple. She really is happy for them.

* * *

Not sure how I feel about this. I don't really like it. It's not the sort of stuff I usually write. Anyway, this one is for Gia (balthazars).


End file.
